Zed’s

I am SO sad to hear this place is closed. This was about as good as it gets! This was a true gem in Georgetown located in a beautiful old row house converted into a restaurant (they did a wonderful job on the design). The food was absolutely delicious (I always ordered a platter so there was PLENTY of food to go around and a nice variety as well) and the atmosphere was as romantic and intimate as any place I could imagine.
So sad I won’t be able to visit again!

I realize that this place is closed but the food really wasn’t so bad. The mushroom appetizer was delicious. Was a fan of the injera. Waiter was nice. Prices were high.
Maybe I haven’t had enough Ethiopian food to tell what is good or not.maybe.

I went here with three other friends, and was super skeptical about going to an ethnic restaurant in Georgetown, but it was at another friend’s suggestion. Honestly, it was very good. The injera could have been more sour, but I really liked the red lentils and the mushroom appetizer we ordered. It’s a very nice place with white napkins and tableclothes, a very different experience than that I’ve had previously.
We ordered a vegetarian plate for two and added the cheese appetizer and the mushroom appetizer. I could have done without the cheese appetizer. It was pretty unmemorable, save for the fact that it was a scoop of small curds. I can’t even remember how it tastes.
I also do remember the food being very hot, so that is always a plus in my book, as is the owner personally thanking each guest for coming on their way out.

We went here because the wait at Bodega was hilarious.
This is the first Ethiopian I tried in D.C. so I cannot compare it to the rumored genius Ethiopian food joints on U Street. I can, however, compare it to the Ethiopian places I tried in Boston and I’d say that price-​wise it was comparable.
I took issue with the wine list — very few selections available by the glass. There were wines I would have liked to try but my friend and I didn’t want to get a whole bottle.
We got the vegetarian sampler and most of it was blah. The collard greens were delicious. We also got a beef dish that was great and an «Ethiopian cottage cheese» side which was delicious (don’t let the name or description squick you out).
Ambiance was good, they were quick to refill my water, and they were very forthcoming with Ethiopian bread refills, which was necessary and yet is a service that seems to be absent in other Ethiopian restaurants I’ve attended. Host slash Manager slash Owner dude was very friendly, made a point of going around to the tables to check on things. So the experience was quite nice and the place is well run. Very date-​like, kind of shmancy. I enjoyed people-​watching this really weird couple that was seated near us: They were really formally dressed and she kept feeding him with her hands, like they were trying so hard to be a sexy couple but in a cliché, 80s movie kind of way. Everybody else was kind of bougie in an intellectual way.
We skipped the deserts in favor of Haagen Dazs down the street but that may have been a mistake.
All in all it was fine, and it’s a nice evening out, so I’m not opposed to coming here if you’re in Georgetown looking for ethnic food or if you’re craving Ethiopian in particular. But it’s pricey and the food wasn’t OMG overwhelmingly delicious, so if it’s between this and elsewhere and taste is the number one factor, It may not be a top choice.

It was a good experience for myself seeing as I’ve never had ethiopian food prior. It had unique and various flavors that blended really well. Everything was fresh and hot when served. And I enjoyed the opportunity to eat with my hands in a slightly upscale setting.
Service was prompt and friendly. They accommodated us newbies by explaining everything well without making us feel ignorant.
Only cons were first, the dessert (the cream puff pyramid) looked huge on the menu and description, but was very small and expensive. Very delicious though. Second, If you don’t like spicy, then avoid!

First time I had Ethiopian food and it was just delightful. No utensils? Yay! Eating with my hands is what I do best.
The food really was good. We got the sampler platter and an appetizer. Gravy covered pieces of meat and spongy Naan was fun to eat and tasted great. The greens were my favorite though. The waitress made sure we were comfortable with the proper way to eat when she served the food. She said «Tear, Scoop, Eat».
They had a «Yelp Loves Us» sticker in their window. Well deserved.

I’m a pretty adventurous person when it comes to cuisine and this was my first time eating Ethiopian cuisine and it was exquisite. I would highly recommend this place to anyone. We ordered the tartar, which is not for the faint of heart, but it was delicious and their blend of spices in the dish really were fantastic.
The staff was excellent and their menu really offered a lot of great dishes. I was thoroughly impressed by their vegetarian dishes. I dont know what it is, but American cuisine just doesn’t capture the heartiness of vegetarian dishes like many cuisines around the world.
The only thing I could suggest to them would be to maybe try to offer some more exotic beers or wines from Africa.

2.5 stars
Definitely overpriced, and the woman who owns it was not very nice to us when we arrived. I’d made a reservation for two on Saturday night with no problem. When we showed up, the woman in all of the photos was at the hostess stand. «How’d you get a reservation?» she asked. Me: «I called.» Her: «Oh, because we don’t take reservations for two.» Well you know what, I guess you do, because someone certainly wrote our name down. She didn’t seem happy, and the meal was off to a bad start.
As for the food, it came out quickly and was just OK. The spicy beef (awaze?) was nowhere near other places I’ve dined in D.C. My husband tried to order the short ribs, but they’d run out. His runner-​up choice wasn’t that great. We also found the red lentils to be lacking in flavor. Pretty disappointing overall.

You know that friend you have? The one that you can go ten years without seeing and know that they’ll always be the same when you meet again? I now know Zed’s is that to me.
Long ago, an eager young girl sat down at their white linen-​draped tables to experience her first taste of Ethiopian cuisine. Little did she know that introduction would spark a lifelong love affair.
Visiting Maryland for the first time in over ten years, there was no doubt Zed’s was not going to be in my itinerary. Call me a sucker for nostalgia, but I dragged my friends along with me so that they could maybe be bit by the Ethiopian food-​lovebug too. Suffice to say, I think they were!
We went with the mushroom appetizer, veggie combo, meat combo, and chicken infillay with rice. It was the perfect amount of food for the four of us. My favorites will forever be the alicha, lentils, and chickpeas but I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the chicken.
The waiters were so attentive, never leaving my water glass (or basket of injera) empty and constantly making sure we didn’t need anything.
I’m glad to see Zed’s has remained the same after all these years. I was worried time would change our relationship but now I can rest assured that distance only makes the heart grow fonder.

OMG, I used to be so in love with this place and for what?! Ugh. I had a friend in town last night who wanted to try this place out and I am pretty sure our friendship is permanently damaged now.
We ordered the chicken infillay with spinach and rice and the special vegetable with spinach and rice and both were horrendous. My friend specifically asked for only white meat chicken and it was all chicken thighs drenched in what seemed to be spaghetti sauce. My special vegetable was a couple of cauliflower florets with frozen string beans and undercooked carrots. The injera tasted way too strongly of vinegar and was hard. Injera is not supposed to be hard. The spinach and rice in both of our meals was hard and, to be honest, the whole dinner looked like reheated leftovers.
The waitress decided to teach us how to eat Ethiopian food even though I made it clear we were both experienced. She guessed we weren’t eating because we had filled up on injera. No ma’am, it just doesn’t taste good.
If you really want Ethiopian, go to U St…

I think this neighborhood is overpriced so thus the food here is a tad expensive for what you get. However, it’s nice to see a restaurant serving Ethiopian food in such a central location and for that I don’t mind.
Ok so my party and I opted to get all the entrees in a communal bowl. We were able to get tap water instead of the expensive mineral water and although the menu clearly states, if 2 people share a dish there will be a $ 7.00 charge, we were able to convince them that if our party of 4 ordered 3 dishes they wouldn’t charge us extra. You can bargain almost anything, just like at the fancy lace shop up the block.
Ok so the shrimp was delicious, very fresh although they could of been a bit more generous. The chicken and spinach rice with butter was amazing and the beef was very tasty with a hint of spice. The dish came with corn and lentils and with the generous helping on injera bread this meal was memorable and satisfying. Love the eating with the hands… it makes you feel so connected to the food.
Dessert?
I had a bite of my friend’s chocolate gelato but the winner was the pyramid truffle with whipped cream. Yum.

The Restaurant was nearly empty when i was there.
I expected a wait looking at the reviews. The food was wonderful. The appetizers were less in quantity but great in taste, should mention the Mushroom Inguday Tibbs, never had anything like that.
Had some chicken for the main course which was as tasty as it can be and all of it served with the ethiopian bread, anyone with a taste to try something new should go here once.

I had been to Zed’s over a decade ago when I visited DC and tried Ethiopian for the first time. At the time, I really liked it. I think that was because I had never tried the good stuff. And the service has obviously gone waaay downhill since then.
Although we know the best places to go in DC for it, we were in Georgetown and were hungry for Ethiopian food, so we decided to risk it and go in. First big mistake. In addition to the overpriced, bland food, the following cardinal rules of good restaurant management were broken during our evening:
1. Be nice to the customers: The service was surly, at best.
2. Don’t be pushy: We were asked if we would like the flat or bubbly bottled water. Tap water was not offered and when we requested it the waitress raised her eyebrows and asked if we were sure that was what we wanted. We were then asked «which» appetizer we wanted (not «if»). We wanted to go straight to the entrée. Again, same response. We’d only been there a few minutes and it already felt like we were in a used car dealership.
3. Thou shalt not plate snatch: My companion was literally lifting a bite of food to his mouth, with several bites of food left on the plate. The waitress zoomed by and grabbed his plate. When he told her he was still working, no apology, just a laugh.
4. Don’t rush it: Said waitress watched like a hawk until my companion had had his last bite then rushed over to take the plate. Keep in mind that there was no reason for the rush– the place was half empty. Although I still had half the food on my plate, she rushed back with dessert menus. I had to firmly tell her no less than four times that we were not ready for dessert menus. This was after she literally lifted up my plate and tried to put the menu under while I was still eating off of it.
In summary: (twice the price of U street) + (half the yumminess of U street) + (ridiculously heinous service) = AVOID AVOID AVOID!
Instead, stick to Dukem and its neighbors in the U st area.

I took my parents to Zed’s for their first Ethiopian meal ever. E-​ver. They were hooked after the first bite! We shared the vegetarian sampler — every single thing was very tasty! The red lentils were a little too strong for my taste, but when eaten with the yellow lentils, a nice balance emerged.
The food was flavorful (it could have been on the warmer side– some of our dishes got cold pretty quickly), the service was friendly and prompt with our food and drinks. I’d definitely recommend Zed’s for a nice meal after a long day of shopping in Georgetown.
Oh yes, and ladies — get over your pristine manicures and dig in… with your hands! Forks are out of place!

Since DC has a highly concentrated number of Ethiopian restaurants, I decided to be daring and try it out. Ordered 2 of the few non-​spicy dishes on the menu. The waitress told us that their spicy dishes can be really spicy.
Had the beef cubes with chef’s sauce and shrimp with chef’s sauce. Both were stir-​fried with green bell peppers and other veggies and was served on a large oval piece of injera. It also came with a side dish of a few additional rolls of injera. We were instructed to rip a piece of injera and wrap some of the meats with it and eat. As such, no additinal utensils were provided for the meal.
When I picked up the injera, I was suprised that it was cold. I suppose this is how it’s traditionally eaten, but it felt weird eating the spongy, thing crêpe-​like bread cold. The injera is also a bit sour, which doesn’t suite my tastes very much.
The beef was ok, nothing to rave about. The shrimp was plump and tender, but they should have de-​veined them before cooking.
Overall, it was a good experience to try something different. However, the prices of this place was quite steep, since each dish cost $ 17-​$ 20 but teh serving were rather small.
As for dessert, they were equally expensive. But since their espresso filled cappucino gelato looked so delicious, we decided to give up another $ 5.75 for it. It was indeed very delicious and refreshing (from the caffine). However, this as well as the rest of the desserts on the menu did not look like traditional Ethiopian dishes … since they came with forks!
As a side note, the wall by the front door was filled with photos and newspaper clippings of famous people who have eaten here, including Hilary and Chelsea Clinton.

If you come to Georgetown you HAVE to go here! Best Ethiopian ever. It is in a beautiful rennovated colonial-​esque house. You get a ton of food. And who can argue with getting to eat with your hands?!?
I got the meat sampler. All of it was richly flavored. Nothing was too similar. It had very generous portions. I do suggest you like spicy food (I know I do) The veggies were not over cooked and also interesting and deleciously spiced. Lastly the bread that you use to eat all the yummy curries is addictive. Crack of the bread world, maybe heroin? It is a bit sour, spongy, and just plain addictive.
I come from the San Francisco Bay Area and I am used to a lot of really great exotic food and though more expensive than most of the ethiopian food I have had, it is WAY better. Really high quality.

I think Zed’s primarily benefits from its location in Georgetown. The food is very unmemorable, and easily topped by at least 10 other Ethiopian joints around the DC/​Nova area. Due to its prime location, I think it generally tones the food down to appeal to newcomers and tourists. This is unfortunate, as I can imagine in days past, the food at Zed’s was a lot more risk taking, spicy and delicious. It’s too bad, although I imagine their business is doing fine as is.
I think people calling the food «amazing» have not dined in the shadier parts of the city that have many more authentic Ethiopian restaurants. The berber sauce in particular at Zed’s was bland and uninteresting. The chicken was tough as well.

We went as a group of 5 and got seated right away. The staff is very friendly and eager to please… Ethiopian hospitality. We ordered starters of grilled veggies and some kind of meat appetizer. My meat eating buddies didn’t really like the meat starter — I think they described it as «disgusting.» The grilled veggies were OK, not bad.
I ordered the vegetarian platter and it was huge. The beans and the lentils were very good. The collard greens and cabbage were a bit rustic tasting and could of been better. Overall it was a good meal but when the bill came it turned out to be $ 40 per person which is a bit much for Ethiopian (although we had a few beers as well). I probably will stick to Addis Ababa or Bukom.

Although the menu at Zed’s bears the tagline «Indescribably Delicious,» I question whether or not it should read more along the lines of «Unnecessarily Upscale.»
We had prepared in advance by reading up on the other reviews and turned down the expensive bottled water in favor of just tap water. Thanks, Unilocalers! Aside from that sketchy business operation, the rest of the service was quite pleasant.
Beware the confusing $ 7 «sharing» fee. That was unexpected. I’ve never encountered that at any other Ethiopian restaurant anywhere. It seems to me that the cuisine is designed to be shared — the servings are certainly large enough to be split between two people quite comfortably.
We shared the sauteed mushrooms appetizer, along with the Ethiopian soft cheese. The ‘shrooms were served in savory oily sauce. Quite tender and tasty. The cheese was surprisingly mild — it reminded me a lot of a goat cheese. Presentation was pretty.
My entrée, the beef zilzil tibs special was pretty underwhelming. The serving size was ridiculously huge for a single person, but the meat wasn’t terribly well-​flavored or tender. Edible, but nothing outstanding. Kind of like the entire experience.
All in all, pretty meh. I wouldn’t recommend this if I were on the market for Ethiopian in DC, preferring the joints on U Street. Lower price point, not sketchy dealings, and better food without the unnecessary pretenses.

I didn’t like Zed’s very much. The injera was cold, the price was a bit high, and there were no free refills.
WTF is the deal with no free refills. And, if I remember correctly, a coke is like $ 3.00 and maybe 12 oz. I really do not like places without free refills. I think that will be a theme in most of my reviews.
Seriously, if you think Zed’s is good, go try another Ethiopian restaurant. You’ll be shocked.